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I am teaching my 14 year old using the Foerster's Algebra text, which is very good but is starting to move too quickly.  I have ordered the Math without Borders DVDs for the text.  I have Hands on Equations, which I plan to start tomorrow (though I have difficulty understanding how the different parts of the program work together....maybe I just need to watch the video).

 

We have crying, rudeness, and the inability to understand how to distribute and multiply binomials, even though I am pulling out all the stops with my teaching and using different colored markers, examples, repeating myself, etc.

 

I have hired a math tutor, and she is very good at explaining things and very personable.  He has gone for two weeks and will go this week, too.  I have contacted a friend I went to high school with who is a diagnostician and runs a private educational consulting business to look into some specific testing.  I don't even have a name for "what is wrong", you know?  Not even with all the testing and all of the services over many years.

 

I am so frustrated and overwhelmed lately.  Trying to teach this child math is consuming a huge and disproportionate part of our days.  I think I am just blowing off some steam.  Most days I soldier on and see how it ends well, but today is not one of those days.  I am open to feedback, btw.

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Could she have the flu or be getting sick? Has math always been this bad? What did you do for peel agents? Maybe a fresh prealgebra program?

Maybe she needs more time to bake? I don't know, I was just thinking that about my dd, how things were gelling and no big deal that a year ago were hard. I think the math at this grade level or you're behind thing is just, well it's aggravating. If she's 8th you might do problem solving or logic and a fresh prealgebra program.

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Thank you all for your responses.  I just got home from five hours of various basketball events and am worn out but will look more at the specifics tomorrow.

 

OhE, he did AoPS PreA and was pretty successful!  Math is his strong subject, an outlier strong subject.  That is what makes this so puzzling and discouraging.  Before we left for our basketball marathon, I showed him the Galley Method and he said that he thought he could do the binomial distribution now.  And then he did.  I gave him several problems, and he got them all correct.  So go figure.

 

I do think he is assailed by testosterone of the brain, and I know the little world between his ears is very complex at this stage of life. 

 

I have already made a plan for him to repeat Algebra 1 next year, and he knows this and seems to accept it.  My goal for this year is to help him understand the foundational concepts of Algebra so he will be ahead of the game when he begins next year because my plan is to outsource his Algebra 1 next year, probably to Jann in Texas.  I believe I will contact her and ask what I should be doing to prepare him and give him the best possible chance of success.

 

Timberly, thank you for your kind words.  I teared up at them. 

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If he liked AoPS pre-algebra, had you thought about continuing with their algebra?  Was there a reason it worked for him? Something from the work dynamic you could recapture?  It's radically different from Foerster.

He actually did AoPS Algebra for the first 8 weeks of the year even though I didn't think it was best for him (or anyone else here since his younger brother was and is still using it).  I allowed him to choose, and he picked it, then I realized that it was a terrible fit for him.  (Still don't know why pre-A worked and A failed miserably.)  That is when I borrowed Saxon Algebra and did 1-2 weeks of it while deciding on and ordering Foerster's.  So far, Foerster's has been a good match (for the first several chapters, anyway).  But that was largely review.  He is now in chapter 5 and struggling, thus my ordering the videos that go along with it and hiring a tutor.  I am pretty good at explaining these concepts and approaching them from different angles and such, but he still gets bogged down.  We are dealing with teen boy resistance and attitude, as well, but on top of that, he truly did not understand the concept even with my most expert teaching.

 

I feel like I spend 50% of my mental energy per day doing math with one child, leaving 50% of my available energy for all the other tasks I have to do.  I am beat like a drum.

 

I did message Jann in Texas.  I am talking to my friend the diagnostician tomorrow. 

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Try not to freak out.  I used the Galley Method and Algebra Lab blocks so that DS could see the process of FOIL.  After practice, he is able to distribute with no problems.  The Galley Method might help when your DS starts factoring too.  I used the GM to explain factoring, and DS started factoring equations in under 10 minutes.  It was shocking because without question, the boy has dyscalculia.  ETA:  I coined the phrase "Stop, Visualize, Do" while teaching math this year.

 

We started Foerster's Ch 6 yesterday.  Looking back on Ch 5, I don't recall following the teaching methods described in the book until we came to binomial squares and the difference of two squares.  If we had followed Ch 5 directions in the beginning without the manipulatives and pictorial representations, DS and I would both be sitting in corners and twiddling our thumbs.  

 

So hang in there and give your boy time to practice.  If you have any questions, you can contact Dr. Tanton directly.  I contacted him with questions, and he answered my questions and provided access to his teaching Drop Box account.  Tanton is committed to helping teachers help their students.

 

 

 

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Try not to freak out.  I used the Galley Method and Algebra Lab blocks so that DS could see the process of FOIL.  After practice, he is able to distribute with no problems.  The Galley Method might help when your DS starts factoring too.  I used the GM to explain factoring, and DS started factoring equations in under 10 minutes.  It was shocking because without question, the boy has dyscalculia.  ETA:  I coined the phrase "Stop, Visualize, Do" while teaching math this year.

 

We started Foerster's Ch 6 yesterday.  Looking back on Ch 5, I don't recall following the teaching methods described in the book until we came to binomial squares and the difference of two squares.  If we had followed Ch 5 directions in the beginning without the manipulatives and pictorial representations, DS and I would both be sitting in corners and twiddling our thumbs.  

 

So hang in there and give your boy time to practice.  If you have any questions, you can contact Dr. Tanton directly.  I contacted him with questions, and he answered my questions and provided access to his teaching Drop Box account.  Tanton is committed to helping teachers help their students.

Thank you for all of this.  Yesterday, I freaked out.  Today, I have pulled myself up by my bootstraps and armed with coffee, I will take it on again.  ;)

 

Jann in Texas was very kind and helpful, and she nicely allowed ds and I to sit in on an Algebra 1 class this morning.  I think it will be a good fit for ds, and I plan to enroll him for next year so that gives us this year to learn as many foundational concepts as possible.  She also said that Chapter 5 in Foerster's moves too quickly for students and that most students need more practice so this was affirming.  I wish I had put him in her class this past fall, but who knows?  It may not have worked for him at that time.  He may have just needed this extra year to work on Algebra and gain confidence.

 

My diagnostician friend will call me this afternoon, and I will see what she thinks. 

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Update for those who are on the edge of their seats worrying about us.  ;)

 

Ds and I observed Jann in Texas's Algebra 1 online class Tues and Thurs this week, and it hit me in the middle of class on Thursday that ds is not really much behind where her class is.  I asked her about the possibility of him joining the class.  She agreed, and he will join her Algebra 1 class in progress immediately.  I have ordered the text, and it has been shipped.  He will need to make up two chapters that the class has already covered, but they are independent of the rest of the text so can be covered this summer.  I think the instruction and the pace will be a great fit for him.  He is on board and actually prefers the online class to a tutor.  I am beside myself with glee at exiting this role in his life.  Jann is available at no extra charge for tutoring, as needed.  She has been very gracious and helpful.

 

My diagnostician friend from high school (who has been in private practice for ten years) called me Tuesday evening, and we talked for over an hour.  I set an appointment for her to evaluate him next month.  I will send her his latest testing from the public school and his SAT10 scores.  Based on this testing, she will choose some fine-tuned testing looking at ADD, Executive Functioning, and visual and auditory processing.  She is very sharp and is the perfect person to help us, and I feel very comfortable with the plan to have her test him.  If he has something diagnosable, hopefully this will be the chance to document it for SAT/college accommodations.

 

Sigh of relief heard all the way from Texas.

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Awesome!  This is funny, but I wanted to ask you how things were going yesterday, and then I realized you had only just started the thread on Monday.  Which I suppose demonstrates how my week has been.  It comforts me when other moms take positive action for their kids.   

Yes, it has been that kind of week/month here, too.  ;)

 

I will ask him if he wants me to attend the online classes at first to provide support if he needs it.  The classes are recorded for review by students as needed, but I am willing to watch the instruction at first with him to help him transition to the class.  If he says "no", I will take him at his word.  He can ask questions in class, review the teaching, or ask for tutoring, if needed. 

 

I am having a flashback to him being three years old and in speech therapy with a PPCD class (preschool special ed class).  He didn't want to go without me. I had a one year old at the time.  So the toddler and I attended speech class, too.  At first, I had to sit in the circle on a carpet square with all the other little kids with him in my lap.  Then I was able to move back and sit behind him, touching him so he knew I was there.  Then I sat further and further back until one day I was in the hall with a toddler in a stroller.  Yes, I was "that" mother.  ;)  My guy has come a long way since then.  He has made much progress.  This is another step in our journey.

 

As I lie in bed last night, I told dh that I have been walking uphill pushing this large stone for seven years now, and I am tired.  I am ready to hand off this particular stone to someone else.  I am ready to be my son's parent and not his Algebra teacher.  We have no issues with other subjects.  It is only math that has caused increasing levels of angst in him and conflict between us.  When he and I are not duking it out over Algebra, we share a few laughs and enjoy each other.  We need more of that.

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Writing is the one subject we argue over, so I get hiring a pro for a problem subject. I am taking over writing again next year, and I am hoping and praying that we can work that one out.

 

I get sad looking at my DS. He is 6ft tall and will be driving soon. They grow fast.

Not babies any more.  (((hugs)))

 

I can see that taking a break from teaching the difficult and contentious subject might give a better perspective when it is taken back up again so I will hope that is the case for you.

 

I am handing over math for good, as I cannot teach it beyond Algebra 1, even with the most cooperative student.  :)

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